Kaveri Trail Half Marathon - Nov 18, 2007 - A Report

It was close to 6:00 on Sunday morning when I drove out of the apartment complex I live in on Bannerghatta Road in Bangalore. The pre-dawn glow was already on the eastern sky. I had been told to budget 2.5 hours for the drive from Bangalore to Srirangapatna - a distance of around 130 km - where the Kaveri Trail Half Marathon was to start at 9:00 AM. I learnt about the run thanks to a chance meeting with a seasoned Hasher in Cubbon Park during the week. I used to run with the Bangalore Hash regularly, until work schedules, travel and my photography projects made getting out for weekends runs difficult. Abnash, the Hasher I ran into, talked me into running the half marathon distance with his descriptions of the trail. The race was being organized by the Bangalore Hash in conjunction with Runners For Life (RFL), another running group with whom I had run a couple of times in Bangalore. I was well aware that both groups put up fine runs, and their coming together would probably result in a special run. I was hooked; I decided that I would run the Kaveri Trail half that weekend.

Getting onto Mysore road, I was encouraged to see light traffic on the road. I was able to do 90 kmph in some stretches, which meant that I was doing good on time. At just past 8:00 AM, I pulled into the parking lot of the Fort View Resort in Srirangapatna, from where I was told we would be bussed to the starting line. A quick toilet break later, I was on the bus with a load of enthusiastic runners, headed towards the starting point.

After registering at the starting point, I waited with a couple of dozen runners for the 9:00 AM start time. We were told that a bus bringing runners from Bangalore was late, possibly delaying the start time. It was starting to get warmer while we were waited. Soon the front runners of the Full Marathon came into view. The full marathon course was the same as the half marathon course, except that the full marathoners ran the course twice. The course itself was an out-and-back, measuring 10.5 km one way. The full marathoners had started their run at 7:30 AM, and were heading into what was for them the halfway point. They looked in superb shape. It was inspiring to see these guys looking strong and clearly ready to tear into the second half of their run.

We finally started our run at around 9:40 AM. It was fairly warm now, so I decided to take it easy in the first half, and pace the second half depending on how strong I was feeling at the halfway point. We were running on a levy, with a canal running along one side. On the other side there were fields, some growing sugarcane. Running on the levy, I was reminded of the Led Zeppelin classic “When The Levee Breaks”. The song kept playing in my head, and I fell into something of a rhythm to Bonzo’s hypnotic drumming. The trail of packed earth made running easier on the knees. There was some tree cover, but not nearly enough. Although warm, it was still a beautiful day to be outdoors. The air was clean and fresh, unlike anything in Bangalore. I was reminded of the trails in the Coyote Creek Regional Park in Fremont, California, where I used to head out for my long runs when training for a marathon. I reached the marked 3 km point in 18 minutes, which meant that I was running slightly faster than I intended, so I slowed the pace a little. The aid station at the 5.5 km mark was well stocked. After a short break, it was back on the trail again. A little further on, I tripped on a rock and took a tumble. A couple of runners in front of me ran back to help me, but other than a few scratches I was fine. The heat of the day was starting to tell on me and some other runners as well. The next aid station was just short of the 10 km mark. At this point, the trail got a little tricky. First we had to go ahead a half a kilometer on the same trail then make a U-turn back towards the aid station. This was followed by a brief detour towards a temple towards the right, and back to the aid station after making a U-turn just ahead of the temple. Then we had to repeat the first loop one more time, before getting back to the aid station, and returning in the direction we came. At the end of the loops, my stopwatch indicated 1:15. I figured that a 2:30 finish would be respectable, given the conditions.

I downed a couple of glasses of water and poured some water on my head, neck and shoulders. It would be 5 km before the next aid station and it was now uncomfortably hot, so I would need all the help I could get to stay cool. I felt strong enough to pick up the pace a bit. I was now passing other half-marathoners consistently, although my pace could hardly be described as frenetic. Reaching the first aid station again (now 5.5 km from the finish) was a great relief. Pouring some more water on myself, I hit the trail again, counting down the km markers to the finish, which seemed to get agonizingly further apart as I neared the end. By the time I reached the mark telling me that I was 1 km from the finish line I was totally spent. The last kilometer was probably the most difficult one I have run – it seemed interminably long. Other than my knees which were hurting now from the strain of placing every step, I could feel the onset of cramps in my leg muscles. After what seemed like an hour, I finally saw the finish line, and crossed it in 2:19:04. Not my fastest half (my PR for a half is 1:58:17), but I was happy to have endured what I thought was a challenging run.

Back at the Fort View Resort, I had a quick lunch and a warm beer (not by choice, mind you), following which it was time to head the 130 km back to Bangalore. I didn’t really mind the drive, as I had just participated in a terrific experience. The Bangalore Hash and RFL had collaborated to put up a brilliant run. The trail was fantastic, and the standard of organizing and attention to detail were world class. This was truly a run by runners, for runners. Thank you BH3 and RFL!